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This third Naxos volume of Claudio Arrau’s recordings from the 1930s and 1940s includes two performances set down in an incredibly short period of time. Richard Strauss’s Burleske was recorded at a morning session on 13th April 1946 at Orchestra Hall in Chicago, followed immediately by Weber’s Konzertstück (Naxos 8.111263). The 1944 recording of Schumann’s Piano Concerto was recorded in one session of one hour and 45 minutes, with the first side of the second movement and both sides of the last movement done in single takes. The 1939 recording of Schumann’s Carnaval is one of Arrau’s finest recordings. A contemporary reviewer stated that, ‘This magnificent recording shows convincingly that Carnaval is one of the masterpieces of piano literature and that Arrau is a great pianist… The recording itself is of the highest quality, better far than any record previously made by Arrau, and the performance – as I ought to have made clear by now – is of supreme artistic value and completely satisfying in every respect.’

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What a horrid jumble at the rushed outset of the Burleske, some timpani tuning would have not gone amiss. The work does not seem Arrau’s scene at all, and though the performance soon settles down as the great Chilean pianist produces some scintillating runs, he seems more happy when he can introduce an unhurried lyrical quality. Uncompetitive in the light of the recent recordings of the work, a fact added to by the poor quality of the orchestral sound that even by 1946 standards is only just tolerable. Musically we are on much more rewarding ground in the Schumann concerto, the recording made in just one session with part of the performance coming from one ‘take’. It is both a joyous and warmly lyrical reading, the end of the finale sounding so vivacious. Thankfully the sound from this transferred 1944 recording is more than we could have hoped for, the Detroit orchestra adding lively support. We move to London in 1939 for Carnival and a refined sound quality, the problem here being that Arrau keeps on getting a rush of blood to the head, the quicker sections very fast and exciting but error prone. As a whole this is a delightful performance that one would describe as youthful, though Arrau was 36 at the time, and it gives him ample chance to display a magical delicacy. So its a mixed bag, but that will not deter Arrau fans, the Naxos transfer people having done the best they can with available material.

All Naxos Historical, Naxos Classical Archives, Naxos Jazz, Folk and Rock Legends and Naxos Nostalgia titles are not available in the United States and some titles may not be available in Australia and Singapore because these countries have copyright laws that provide or may provide for terms of protection for sound recordings that differ from the rest of the world.

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